Just a year and a half after the release of their bittersweet knockout debut, Matt Steele & The Corvette Sunset are dropping their sophomore album Half Girl Half Ghost and it’s no slump. Fun and fresh, it’s full of all the catchy hooks this Halifax-based four piece could fit into it.
Thriving in the band’s sometimes-retro but largely bar-rock feel, Half Girl Half Ghost dips into punk and the deeper waters of classic roc, giving listeners a listening experience with a little more punch than their 2016 debut album Songs for Catherine Anne. There’s no shame in standing on the shoulders of giants here. Their classic rock swagger shines like Buddy Holly dressed in (a young) Marlon Brando’s wardrobe, kicking out some tunes that Matt Mays might have polished off. There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing.
With an all-star production team, Steele recorded at Joel Plaskett’s New Scotland Yard with in-house engineer Thomas Stajcer, and a pre-production workover from Inflight-Safety’s John Mullane, the album has instant hits built into its DNA.
The big bangers hit with previously-released single “Handshake Deal,” Steele’s reflections on a toxic relationship, “Rescue Ship” and “Borderline,” from which the album draws its Half Girl Half Ghost title. On top of that, there’s the catchy guitar riff-laden, Two Hours Traffic-esque “Never Going Home” and the album’s final hurrah, “Hurricane,” that goes out on a high note with an Offspring-style chorus of angst-ridden “hey”s.
But the album doesn’t depend on A-sides for its jollies. It momentarily drops down from an eleven to deliver the comparatively somber “Couchmate Katie.” While the album shows that Steel & Co. are more than capable of delivering both sides (especially in the wake of Songs For Catherine Anne), Half Girl Half Ghost kicks out the bar-rock like it means business.